by John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

The opening party for the second Globis Cup was held at the Globis University in Kojimachi, Tokyo on Thursday, May 7. The university consists of a graduate school in business and offers an MBA, which must make it unique among sponsors of professional go tournaments. It is located just a few blocks from the Nihon Ki-in in Ichigaya, a seven- or eight-minute walk up the hill toward Kojimachi; very convenient for the Nihon Ki-in players and staff attending.

The party started with some energetic wadaiko or Japanese drumming. The sound could have filled a stadium, so it was overwhelming in the reception hall. In his welcome speech, Hori Yoshito, the President of Globis University, welcomed the participants from around the world and reaffirmed his intention of keeping the tournament going for 30 years. After a speech by Wada Norio, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nihon Ki-in, and a toast, the pairings were carried out and the players were interviewed on the stage, each one introduced by a drum roll.

The pairings placed the 16 players in four groups. They will play two or possibly three games with each other. When you win two games, you qualify for the next round, and when you lose two you are eliminated. That means you could advance with a 2-0 or 2-1 score. The players drew lots to decide not only their group but also their places in the group. The four groups are listed below; note that in the first game on Friday, the first-mentioned player plays the second and the third one plays the fourth. Also, in this round players from the same  country are not matched against each other. (For the Korean names, I’m following the spelling in the official program, which may be a little different from my previous report.)

Group A) Ichiriki Ryo (Japan), Huang Yunsong (China); Yo Seiki (Japan), Lin Junyan (Chinese Taipei)
Group B) Fujimura Yosuke (Japan), Lee Donghun (Korea); Yang Dingxin (China), Pavol Lisy (Europe)
Group C) Motoki Katsuya (Japan), Li Qincheng (China); Shin Jin Seo (Korea), Lionel Zhang (USA)
Group D) Sada Atsushi (Japan), Na Hyun (Korea); Koyama Kuya (Japan), Krit Jamkachornkiat (Thailand).

In their speeches on the stage, the players all kept it quite brief, expressing their gratitude to the sponsor and/or saying they would try to play their best. Only one player came right out and said what the others were probably thinking. Na Hyun declared that he would make up for his bad performance last year [he lost to Ichiriki in the quarterfinal] and do his best to reach the final, which he would win.

There was a stir in the audience when Ichiriki and Yo ended up in the same group. Japanese fans would like to see this pairing in the final, so they will be hoping that they can both get through. If I understand the pairing system correctly, they won’t be paired in the second game in the opening round, but would have to be in a third game if they were both on 1-1. Incidentally, when I had a chance to speak to Mr. Hori, he expressed his appreciation of the coverage in the E-Journal. A number of other guests at the party were also subscribers.

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Three children from North America are being invited to Japan, for international friendship matches.  The sponsors of the trip are paying all expenses, including airfare, from the west coast of the US to Osaka, Japan. Forty Two children under the age of 13, and at least single digit kyu, are being invited from nine countries: Japan, China, Korea, Germany, Russia, Mexico, Thailand, Canada, and the US. The kids will stay at the Maisima Lodge, in Osaka Bay, and will have opportunities for cultural exchanges as well as for playing go.  The AGA will select three kids, two from the US and one from Canada, based on participation points earned from attending various AGA events.  The matches will be held July 20th-23rd, and AGA Youth Coordinator Paul Barchilon will lead the team.  All expenses are paid for the kids, but parents who wish to come will need to pay their own travel and lodging expenses.  If you are interested in attending, please fill out the form here.  Any questions should be addressed to youth@usgo.org.  -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo: Participants at last year’s Life International Go Meeting. The event is sponsored by Life Sports Foundation, and NPO Life Kids Go Club, with the cooperation of the Nihon Ki-in and the Kansai Ki-in.

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by John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Ejournal to cover Globis Cup: The Nihon Ki-in has invited the E-Journal to cover the 2nd Globis Cup, so I will be presenting detailed reports this week on this new international tournament for young players. Below is a preview.

The Globis Cup was founded last year. The official name is the Globis Cup World Igo U-20. It is organized by the Nihon Ki-in and the main sponsor is the Globis Corporation, with Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and Kitami Hakka Tsusho Inc. acting as supporting sponsors. Globis is a venture-capital company that also provides educational services in business and management. The venue of the tournament is a university run by the company, the Graduate School of Management, Globis University. The co-sponsor Kitami Hakka Tsusho specializes in peppermint products of various kinds (food, cosmetics, etc.). It is based in the city of Kitami in northeastern Hokkaido. Details of the first tournament were given in my report in mid-May last year. To recap, it was a triumph for Japan, with Ichiriki Ryo 7P beating Kyo Kagen 2P, a Taiwanese member of the Nihon Ki-in, in the final. The top prizes are 3 million yen (nearly $30,000), 500,000 yen, and 200,000 yen. Participants this year have to be under 20 as of January 1, 2015. As the host country, Japan has six of the sixteen places.

Participants are listed below:
Japan: Ichiriki Ryo 7P (seeded), Yo Seiki 7P, Motoki Katsuya 3P, Fujimura Yosuke 2P, Sada Atsushi 2P, and Koyama Kuya 2P.
China: Yang Dingxin 3P, Guang Yunsong 3P, and Li Qincheng 2P.
Korea: Na Hyeon 6P, Yi Dong-hyun 5P, and Shin Jin-so 3P.
Chinese Taipei: Lin Junyan 6P
Europe: Pavol Lisy 1P
USA: Lionel Zhang 7D
Thailand: Krit Jamkachornkiat 7D

The tournament starts with a reception on May 7th, and is then played at the rate of two games a day from Friday to Sunday (May 8th to 10th). The format is NHK-style (30 seconds per move plus ten minutes thinking time, to be used in one-minute units; on TV this usually results in a 90-minute game). It’s a knock-out tournament, but the opening round is double elimination: the players are split into four groups; two wins take you to the next round, two losses see you
eliminated. In the early rounds, players from the same country won’t be paired against each other.

Players to watch: The favorites for Japan are Ichiriki and Yo, but the overall favorite is probably Na Hyeon, who has already been a presence in international tournaments for a couple of years.

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On May 2nd, the Austin Go Club held it’s ” ‘May’ you win ” tournament. Sixteen players participated and were observed by Yi Kou, a former pro from China currently living in Austin, who provided post game discussions.

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by John Power, Japan Correspondent for the E-Journal

Otake awarded decoration: The go world has been honored with the award of a decoration in the spring honors list to Otake Hideo 9P. The decoration is the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon. (that’s the Wikipedia translation; the Japanese name is just five characters and reads kyokujitsu-chuu-jushou.) Otake is the 23rd go player to be honored (it’s actually his second decoration). His award, which is the sixth-highest, is the same one given to Takagawa Shukaku, Go Seigen, and Fujisawa Shuko. Besides winning 48 titles, including four Meijin titles and the Fujitsu Cup, Otake served as chairman of the board of directors of the  Nihon Ki-in from December 2008 to June 2012. He is now a counselor to the Nihon Ki-in.

Yamashita reaches Gosei final: Although his recent Kisei challenge faltered at the final hurdle, Yamashita (left) is making his presence felt on the tournament scene this year. In the semifinal of the 40th Gosei tournament, held on April 30, Yamashita beat Murakawa Daisuke Oza by resignation. His opponent in the play-off to decide the challenger to Iyama Yuta will be the winner of the semifinal between Kono Rin 9P and Shida Tatsuya 7P. If Yamashita becomes the challenger the start of the match might overlap his Honinbo title match with Iyama.

Correction: I jumped to a wrong conclusion about Iyama Yuta in the Judan article in my previous report. He never held the record for fastest to win a top-seven title. Before Ida’s six years, the record was held by Ryu Shikun 9P, who won the Tengen title after six years eight months as a pro.  Yamashita is third, winning the Gosei after seven years four months, and Iyama (seven years six months) is fourth. Rounding out the top five is Ishida Yoshio, who won the Honinbo title after eight years two months.

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